


Ghost in the Fire

by askandiwilllie, secretsillnevertell



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Choking, F/M, Parent/Child Incest, Room of Fire, Sleeping Curse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-03
Updated: 2015-09-03
Packaged: 2018-04-18 19:01:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4716989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askandiwilllie/pseuds/askandiwilllie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsillnevertell/pseuds/secretsillnevertell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Regina was so desperate to keep herself from living without Henry, once they returned to the Enchanted Forest, she successfully put herself under a sleeping curse. Henry, many years later, returns to the room of fire and meets a Queen he thinks is just in his dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghost in the Fire

Regina took a quick inhale, looking down at the cursed hairpin in her hand. “Henry…” she breathed, and pushed the pin forward into her fingertip.

She was unaware of what followed; the way her body slumped to the side, the pin dropping to the stone floor, the release of her magic tethering Robin Hood to the floor of her quarters. The green-skinned woman appearing on the balcony and screeching in rage at her unconscious form, and Robin Hood running out, bow and arrow at the ready. She was unaware of the green witch’s release of the castle, of Snow finding her and sobbing, of Charming carefully lifting her and carrying her back into her chambers to lay her, still as death, on her bed.

The only thing Regina was aware of was darkness. Her heels clicked on dark stone floor that she could barely see, and the sparse torches illuminated her reflection in the endless mirrors that surrounded her. She looked at herself in one of them, and touched her fingertips to her reflection. This, she thought, was not the oblivion she had sought. And in the silence, the darkness, all she had was her pain and yearning for her son.

~

The nightmares started when they moved to New York, when Henry was eleven. Horrific dreams of being caught in a burning room, surrounded by fire with no way out. For a while, he flinched any time he smelled smoke or saw a flickering flame. Once, he woke up from a long, deep sleep with a large burn on his arm. He’d lied to his mom, saying that it had come from a failed attempt to cook something, and she’d given him a suspicious look as she bandaged it. After that, he discovered that if he set a quiet alarm for every couple of hours, he could escape the room without too much horror.

Regina sighed heavily as she walked around the mirrored room again. She was at least relieved that there was very little she regretted, therefore very little that filled her mind to the brink of madness. This day, though, whatever day it may be, she was there, teetering that edge that would lead her down the road to madness. Daniel and Henry were haunting her, her inability to save her first love, and the many ways she wanted to make up to Henry the ways she'd failed him. The more time passed, the less certain she was that she'd see him again.

Angry and frustrated, she raised one heeled foot and stomped on the ground. At the sound of cracking, Regina looked down with a tilt of her head. Little fissures had spread out from where the heel of her shoe had made contact, and her eyes widened in realization. Standing again, she stomped her heel into the same spot, over and over, switching her feet when her right knee started to ache. Finally, after what seemed like hours of stomping, she felt the floor break through and she fell.

Regina stood, eyes roaming over the new room. The floor was burning with the heat of what seemed like a thousand flames, and she pushed herself up off the ground to look around, fire surrounding her into one square on the floor. So this was where Henry's nightmares had taken place.

As time had passed, Henry’s nightmares lessened, and he stopped using the alarm method of controlling them. Eventually, they only occurred every couple of months, and he didn’t think anything of them. Until graduation was right around the corner, and finals were kicking his ass, his stress levels through the roof. His mom had finally had enough of his ‘clomping’ around the apartment at all hours, unable to sleep, and relented to get him a prescription for a few sleeping pills. The night he took the first one, he found himself back in the fiery room, only this time, he wasn’t alone.

Noticing a silhouette, Regina tried to step forward through the flames, but they shot up higher around her, burning even hotter. She took a step back and concentrated harder on seeing who it was. It was definitely a man, she could tell that much, tall and broad, but thin. "Hello?" she yelled. "Who are you?"

Henry squinted into the light of the flames, trying to make out the other person. The voice told him it was a woman, and he could tell she was small, but couldn’t tell much more than that. Eyeing the flames, he slowly tried to maneuver closer. “I’m Henry,” he called back. “Who are you?”

Regina gasped, whispering his name softly. No. He couldn't be here. Shouldn't be. She tried to step through the flames again, needing to see him, but they just became stronger once more.

“Hey!” Henry called again, hissing as the fire flared up around him, catching his hand. “Who are you?”

"My name is Regina!" she called, finally getting fed up with the fire and pushing her hands in front of her, not expecting an actual outcome. But it worked. There was a clear path in front of her and she rushed forward, watching Henry, hoping the fire didn't come back before she could get a good look at him.

Henry blinked in surprise at the sudden clear path between them, and took a few steps forward. He looked the woman up and down, surprised, having assumed that if his brain was going to give him a companion in this dream, it would be a girl his own age, not a woman a decade or so older than him. “Nice to meet you, Regina,” he greeted with a grin and an internal shrug.

Regina looked him over, her eyes settling into his familiar green eyes. He'd grown so much, hardly even looked like her little boy anymore. She realized she was staring and still hadn't responded, so she nodded. "It's, uh, it's nice to meet you, too, Henry."

“So…” Henry’s grin turned goofy as he teased, “What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”

She couldn't help the chuckle that slipped through her lips, but it was followed almost immediately by a frown. Regina knew he wouldn't know who she was, but it still stung her deep to her core. "I could ask you the same. You shouldn't be here. This is an awful place."

Henry shrugged, looking around. “Honestly, I’m kinda used to it by now. I’ve been having these dreams since I was eleven.. Don’t get them too often anymore, just when I’m in a really deep sleep.”

Regina felt a pang of self hatred at his admittance. It was her fault, she should never have made that turnover. There was a more selfish part of her, deep down inside, that was happy she could see him. If she couldn't be with him all the time, at least she had part of him with her. "This isn't something you should have ever had to get used to."

Tilting his head in confusion, Henry frowned. “It’s just life, I guess. I dunno, I figure something happened when I was really little and it made me scared of fire, so I have these dreams. But, I mean, if you’re in my dream, wouldn’t you know this?”

Giving him a blank stare, she shook her head. "Right. Yes. Um, I'm not sure why I'm here, actually. I think dreams are supposed to only allow images of people you've seen or known in you life."

“Yeah, and I know I’ve never seen you before.” He scanned over her body again with an appreciative look. “I definitely would’ve remembered.”

"I... thank you, I guess," Regina mumbled, blushing furiously. She hadn't ever expected her son to flirt with her, though, she supposed, he didn't know she was the woman who'd raised him, well, for most of his life anyway. Her thoughts made her curious. "How old are you?"

Henry laughed, joking, “You’re a really bad figment of my imagination if you don’t know _that_! I’m eighteen.”

She really needed to get better at this, or tell him the truth and risk him making sure he never slept deeply again so he could stay away from the crazy lady. "Right. I was just making conversation."

“So how old are _you_?”

"I'm thirty-seven."

“Huh. Weird.” Henry tilted his head again. “You’re like, the same age as my mom. Well, a year older, but still. Apparently my brain has some weird mommy issues or something.”

Regina raised her eyebrows and shifted awkwardly. She looked down in realization of what she was wearing and bit back a laugh. "Does your mother wear clothes like this, too?" she asked dryly.

“Nooo,” Henry drew out the word, looking over the elaborate black dress and then eyeing Regina’s prominent cleavage. “She definitely doesn’t. And if she did, that’d be weird. Weirder. Whatever.”

"Is she good to you? Your mom?" The last word nearly stuck in her throat, and she had to force tears from welling in her eyes.

Henry wondered at the questions, before finally deciding that maybe this dream woman was his brain’s way of having an internal dialogue, maybe addressing issues he never knew he had. “Yeah, she is,” he nodded with a smile. “Although sometimes I wish she’d just find a guy and get married, instead of dating for a few months and breaking up with him. Like, I get it, commitment issues and everything, but sometimes I wish it was more than just the two of us.”

Regina nodded her understanding. She hadn't been enough for him, why had she expected Emma would be? "Well, perhaps you have more family than you think. But I believe we make our own family."

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, I have a few friends and all, but not really anyone I’d consider family. Besides my mom, I mean.” He shrugged. “I guess that’s just how it goes sometimes. You don’t always get what you wish for.”

"Are you going to go to college?" Regina had to fight her every instinct to reach to him and brush his hair back, or squeeze his hand in comfort.

Nodding, Henry replied, “I think so. Not right away, though. I want to take a break from school, get a job, or travel. Or travel somewhere and get a job there,” he chuckled.

Tilting her head, Regina smiled softly. "Where do you want to travel?"

“Everywhere,” Henry immediately answered with a sheepish laugh. “Probably somewhere that I can get around without having to know another language, because I’m _terrible_ at learning other languages.”

Regina gave him an amused grin. "Then yes, perhaps you shall go somewhere they speak English. Are you good at other school subjects?"

Henry grinned proudly, nodding. “Yep. I have a 3.8 GPA this year. _And_ I’m taking AP English. Mom says she doesn’t know where I got my smarts and that it must’ve been nurture over nature, because god knows my dad wasn’t a rocket scientist.”

She felt achingly proud of him, and every part of her wanted to reach out and hug him, touch him affectionately, just show him how proud she was. Instead she smiled. "Very smart. You deserve to be proud of that. Do you do anything else? Any extra curricular activities or anything?"

“Yeah, I have a couple,” Henry replied, glancing around and shrugging before sitting down on the hot floor, his legs crossed. “Mom wanted me to go into sports a few years ago, and I tried everything under the sun. I’m not an athletic person,” he chuckled, motioning at his lanky form. “But I did find that I like riding horses, so I do that, and I’m in a writing club at school, and I’m taking a photography class on weekends.”

Regina couldn't help the smirk she gave. Even in a life without her, there were fragments there that were entirely from her. "How did you discover that you like horseback riding?"

Henry squinted, thinking about it. “I don’t really know,” he mused. “When we moved to New York, I’d see those horse-drawn carriages at Central Park, and just always wanted to be around them. So when Mom went on the sports kick, and after the utter torture of soccer and football and baseball and all that, I suggested horseback riding.”

Nodding, she decided to sit next to him. Her outfit didn't make it easy, but she managed, and soon she was practically eye level with Henry. "They're wonderful animals, horses. Often much better companions than people are."

“Tell me about it.” Henry eyed her, and curiously asked, “What’s with the dress? Like… I seriously never figured I’d come up with something like that, even in a dream.”

"Well," Regina started, considering if she should tell him the truth. After a few moments, she decided it couldn't hurt, he thought she was a figment of his imagination, so why not? "I'm a queen."

Henry’s eyebrows rose skeptically. “Where’s your crown, then?”

"Crowns are heavy, all they do is weigh one down. I've never been fond of wearing one." Regina shrugged one shoulder, looking down at her elaborate dress and wishing she'd thought to change her clothes before slipping under the curse.

“Mm. Well, I approve of the corset, anyway,” he grinned widely, checking out her cleavage again. Not that he hadn’t seen cleavage before, or even completely bared breasts, but these specific ones were particularly spectacular.

Regina arched an eyebrow, scolding, "Henry! I'm your-- I'm old enough to be your mother." Her words ended less firmly than they'd started. He was a young man now, and she was... well, she was nothing to him, it shouldn't surprise her that he would notice such an obvious display of her assets.

“What?” Henry laughed defensively. “You’re just a figment of my brain, right? Totally makes sense that I’d think up someone hot. Uh, pun unintended, given our location,” he grimaced at the flames around them.

Giving him an unimpressed look, Regina shook her head slowly. "I suppose you're right. Given that I am some mirage of your mind's own making, yes."

About to reply, Henry paused, tilting his head as the room seemed to waver. A distant beeping filtered into his consciousness, and he groaned. “Damn, my alarm’s going off… the _one_ time I like dreaming of this place.” He looked at Regina, feeling almost apologetic, as if he was leaving her in the room of flames instead of both things dissolving as he woke. “It was nice to meet you, Regina,” he said, as the room faded to black, and he slowly blinked his eyes open, looking up at his bedroom ceiling.

Regina watched him fade away, like a distant memory, and she actually found herself wondering if it had been a dream, or a figment of her own imagination. If this eternal hell she was in was made up of her biggest regrets, losing Henry would be at the top of her list, anyway.

~

It was almost a month later that Henry dreamed of the red room again. Finals finished, graduation completed, and a couple weeks of zoning out and resting to recharge his batteries finally allowed him to relax enough to slip into a deep sleep. He wasn’t expecting to see the older brunette again when he appeared in the room, but, sure enough, she was sitting on the floor leaning against one pillar, her head tilted back and eyes closed.

“Regina?” he asked, tentative and surprised.

Regina's head shot up in surprise at the deep tone of his voice. She recognized it from last time, but couldn't help the light echo she heard in her head of his younger, higher pitched voice. Standing quickly, she smiled. "Henry. You're back."

“Yeah… so are you,” Henry replied in a confused tone. There were flames between them again, but not as many as the first time.

She focused hard for a long moment, then pushed her hands out and cleared the flames between them. Walking closer to him, she nodded. "Yes. I will always be here when you are."

“You never were before,” he pointed out. “Although I guess I’m not complaining, since you can control the fire.”

"Apparently I'm a new addition," she joked dryly. "How have you been? How... how long has it been?"

Henry smiled and sat down on the floor of the room, even though it was hotter than standing, and motioned for Regina to join him. “Almost a month. I finished school, and am taking some time to relax before figuring out what I want to do. Oh, but I think I figured out why you’re in my dreams all of a sudden,” he added excitedly.

Arching an eyebrow, Regina took a seat beside him on the floor and nodded, prompting, "And why is that?"

Crossing his legs and turning to face her, Henry explained, “Well, I was thinking about it a lot, and I realized that it’s because I probably need help learning how to treat a woman. I mean, don’t get me wrong, my mom’s awesome and definitely taught me to not be an asshole and all, but when it comes to more in-depth interactions, I’m kind of clueless. I make jokes when I shouldn’t, and when I try to be charming, I just come across as lame. So that’s what I think you’re here for. And, as such, I should apologize for the comments I made last time, and ogling you so much. You really are beautiful, but that wasn’t very appropriate of me. I’m sorry.”

Regina smiled softly, then giving him a curt nod. "It's... fine. It was flattering, yes, but those kinds of compliments are going to draw the wrong type of women to you."

“What type of women would they draw?” Henry asked curiously, not considering it weird in the slightest that he was, essentially, having a conversation with part of his own brain.

Considering a moment, she tilted her head and sighed. "Girls who fall for that kind of flirtation from one man, will fall for it from any. They'll be the ones who cheat if you have difficulties, while also being overly possessive of you."

Henry’s brow furrowed. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. So how does a guy get the attention of a woman he’s interested in?”

"This is going to sound old fashioned, but date her," Regina began, smiling softly. "Only kissing on the first date, pay for dinner. Ask her out on a date, not to hang out; you hang out with friends, make it more than that. Compliment her, but only with what you mean, and never lead her to believe there is more there than you feel or want."

Henry wished he had a paper and pen to take notes, and fervently hoped he’d remember this when he woke up. “But, like, how do I talk to her? I mean… I have friends that are girls, but they wouldn’t take me seriously if I suddenly spouted out ‘you’re beautiful,’ and if I said that to a girl I didn’t already spend a lot of time with, I’d look like a total creep.”

Regina let out a soft laugh and nodded. "Don't compliment a woman's physical beauty so soon. People seem to have forgotten what dating is. If you find you're interested in someone, you ask them on a date, and the date is when you talk to them. You ask about her interests, how she spends her time, what she's passionate about. Those are the things you want to know so you can see if you're compatible."

“What girl in her right mind says yes to a date with a guy she sees once a week at the stables?” Henry lamented.

"If she's interested, she will." Regina considered how to continue, then sighed. "She's seen you more than once? And you've been kind?"

“I helped her untack and groom her horse a couple times,” Henry offered.

Regina smiled, pleased he was a helpful boy. "Then if she finds you attractive, she'll say yes."

Grinning then, Henry bobbed his head. “Cool. Cuz yeah, I really like her. She just started riding and is pretty nervous around the horses, but she seems really sweet, and she’s really cute.”

"What's her name?" Regina asked, unable to really believe she'd missed so much that her baby was interested in dating. "What does she look like?"

Henry blushed a little, ducking his head as he answered, “Her name’s Reanna. She’s half-Latina, so she has these really gorgeous dark eyes and long black hair.”

Humming, Regina fidgeted with her dress a little. "She sounds lovely. Is she kind? Do the horses like her?"

“I think so. I mean, I haven’t really seen her outside of lessons,” Henry admitted. “And the horses…” Hesitating, he bit his lip. “I dunno. They kinda gravitate away from her, but they’re not like, afraid of her or anything. I think they just know she’s afraid of them. They’re big and she’s really tiny.”

Regina shook her head immediately. "Be careful. If horses don't like someone, there's often a good reason. They can sense fear, yes, but they also have a spectacular sense of character for humans." She reached one hand out, as though to touch him, but brought it back quickly. "Just be careful."

“I will,” Henry assured her, “but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. She’s pretty skittish, herself.”

Nodding, she tightened her lips against each other and relaxed her back. Finally she relented, "Good then."

“So what about you? Any interesting characters lurking around my subconscious that catch your eye while I’m awake?” he laughed.

Regina coughed in surprise, and after taking a moment, she caught her breath back. "Um, no. I'm afraid that ship has sailed for me."

Henry’s eyebrow lifted. “No way. I mean, setting aside the whole ‘you’re a figment of my imagination’ thing, you’re totally gorgeous. There’s no way you wouldn’t have guys lining up at your door.”

"I can assure you, you're wrong." Regina felt a light blush across her cheeks and she shook her head. "But that's... sweet, thank you."

Coloring again, Henry shrugged. “Not trying to be sweet, just saying what I think. And I mean, it’s not like you’re old or anything, either.”

Regina scoffed at him. "Well thanks for that," she huffed, rolling her eyes. "I'm glad you don't think I'm old."

“Was that somehow an insult…?” Henry asked tentatively.

"No, I'm just amused at your need to clarify that. I'm well aware that I lie within the range of _not_ old."

“Well, just because you said that ship has sailed,” Henry defended himself. “It hasn’t sailed if you’re still young and beautiful.”

Her eyes softened on him, and she gave a reluctant smile. "That's sweet, but it has, and it's very unlikely it'll be coming back. It's fine, I've accepted this."

Henry frowned deeply, and although he did still believe Regina to be merely a sliver of his subconscious, he found himself rather disturbed by her statement.

"Tell me more about you, Henry," she urged, in a rather deep desire for a subject change. "Your questions, do they stem from not having dated before, or not successfully?"

“Not successfully,” Henry admitted, his shoulders hunching a little.

"You're young, you have much life ahead of you. Don't let it get you down."

Shaking his head, Henry sighed. “It’s not that. It’s… Okay, so there was this girl in tenth grade, and I really liked her, and I thought she liked me. We went out once, and we were hanging out in the park after a movie, and we started kissing and stuff. And she took her shirt off and asked if I wanted to touch her. And like, I’m a guy, so of course I said yes. And…” looking down again to hide his face, Henry mumbled, “I kinda had this huge boner. As soon as I said yes, all these lights turned on and she started laughing and there were all these guys from school there, laughing too, and pointing out that I was turned on, and going on about how I’d never get a girl as hot as her.”

Regina ached for him, hating deeply that he'd been treated so cruelly. "Oh, Henry, I'm sorry that happened to you. People are cruel, so many--" she paused, choking back emotion. Once she was certain she could keep it at bay, she continued, "So many people live to cause others pain. You are such a handsome young man, and smart, and kind. Don't let cruel people make you think differently."

Henry shrugged in an attempt at indifference. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. They were just stupid assholes, and I’m gonna ask Reanna out and have a good time.”

"Very good. If I see you again, you'll have to tell me how it goes with her. If she has any brains in her pretty head, she'll agree and enjoy her time with you."

Grinning at that, Henry glanced back up at her. “Thanks. You know… I hope I do see you again. I really like talking to you. Although maybe next time it could be in a different type of dream?” He grimaced at the flames surrounding them.

Regina frowned, then twisted her lips to the side. "I don't think we'll ever meet in a different type of dream. But I very much enjoy talking with you as well."

“I don’t really see why a queen would be interested in teenage woes and drama, but I’m not going to complain,” Henry chuckled.

"The life of a queen can grow quite weary." Regina sighed, looking away for a long moment and forcing a smile. "Sometimes it is nice to take one's mind off their own problems."

“And what problems do you have, my queen?” Henry asked with a smile.

Regina didn't look at him when she answered, merely saying, "What kind of mysterious woman would I be if I told you that?" and moving on. "Is it bad when you wake from dreaming of this place?"

“It used to be,” Henry replied, allowing the change of subject. “I woke up with a burn once. Still don’t know how that even happened. But I don’t dream of this place very often anymore, and when I do, it’s just like waking up from any other dream.”

Nodding her understanding, Regina looked around the room sadly.  "It's nice to have found you here, Henry."

“Are you…” Henry hesitated before voicing what he thought was the stupidest question ever. “Are you here alone when I wake up?”

Regina tightened her jaw, but nodded slowly. "I am."

His face falling, Henry reached out, trying to take her hand, but he passed right through her, so he pulled back. “I’m sorry. I wish I could take you with me when I wake up.”

"It's fine. It's... it was my choice to be here. Some things aren't as bad as they seem to others."

“How did you choose to be here?” Henry asked, tilting his head. “I mean… you _are_ just a dream, right? Or like, is this some kind of alternate reality?”

Regina was expecting the question at some point, she was far too bad at playing a dream. "I suppose you can say it's like an alternate reality. You know how you said you can only get here when you sleep deeply? Well, I'm in a permanent type of deep sleep."

“Like a coma?”

"Sort of, yes."

Henry frowned, feeling strangely guilty. “Will you… wake up one day?” he asked, not questioning her explanation -- it made more sense to him than her being from his own brain.

"Perhaps someday, but I'm starting to doubt such a possibility," she answered softly.

“How long have you been here?”

Regina pursed her lips. "Around seven years."

“Is it weird that I want to give you a hug?” Henry asked with a sympathetic half-smile.

"I don't think so," Regina answered, a pleased smile curling her lips up. "But unfortunately, that's not an option. The thought is appreciated."

“Wait…” Henry’s brow furrowed as he looked over her. “I’m pretty sure we don’t have queens here who wear things like that. Where are you from?”

 _Clever boy_ , Regina thought. "I'm from another land, it's called the Enchanted Forest."

“The Enchanted Forest?” Henry repeated, his eyebrows raising. “Like… in Snow White?” He laughed then, teasingly asking, “Are you a fairytale character, Regina?”

"You could say that, yes." Regina sighed, knowing it was likely going to come to an end, whatever this relationship was that she had with him now.

Henry grinned widely. “Lemme guess. Sleeping Beauty? You’re under a sleeping curse, right?”

Regina cringed. "No dear, I'm a queen, not a princess."

“Hm…” Henry tried to remember the fairytale characters he knew. “There aren’t a lot of queens in fairytales,” he realized. “Sleeping Beauty’s mother, Snow White’s stepmother, Rapunzel’s mother… who else…?”

"I'm... Snow White's stepmother, for lack of a better description," she offered, tensing just slightly.

Henry looked her over contemplatively, then finally shook his head. “Well, obviously fairytales aren’t reliable. Because there’s no way Snow White could be prettier than you.”

Whatever she was expecting, that wasn't it, and Regina let out a deep laugh, joyful and sincere. "No, your fairytales are not reliable," she answered, once she recovered.

Grinning, pleased that he was able to draw such a carefree laugh from the woman, Henry leaned forward, asking, “But the _real_ question is… is Snow White as annoying as she is in the movie?”

"She is. Horribly annoying. And her obsession with birds..." Regina made a face, then felt a small twinge of pain in realization that she truly did, in some small way, miss the other woman.

Henry chuckled, nodding. “That’s awesome.” Anything else was cut off as he heard his name called from far away. Swearing under his breath, he looked up at the ceiling, shouting, “Come on, Mom, let me sleep longer!”

Regina looked at him sadly, watching as he started fading. "It's okay, Henry. Remember I'll be here anytime you come back. But don't come back too often, you'll get hurt."

“But I don’t want to leave you alone,” by the time he spoke the last word, everything had faded and he was waking up to look at his mother, blinking blearily.

“Sorry, Henry, but I have to go out and I’m expecting a delivery in an hour or so. You can sleep a bit more, just make sure you don’t miss the door, okay?”

Henry stared at his mother and had to suppress a flash of anger at being woken up when he didn’t have to be awake. “Yeah, sure,” he grumbled, rolling to his side, back to his mom.

Regina sighed softly, pushing herself to stand and look around. The flames started overwhelming the space around her, but she didn't care.

~

It was several months later and a continent away that Henry found himself taking a sleeping pill to help fix his jet lag-induced insomnia. As soon as he saw flames, he called out, “Regina?!”

She smiled, pushing through the flames, magically shoving them aside while she made her way to him. "Henry! How are you?"

Happy to see her again, Henry grinned widely. “I’m okay. Actually, I just moved to the other side of the world. Just for a while, but yeah, I’m in Australia now instead of New York.”

"How do you like it? Are you working, or just exploring?" Regina was so pleased to see him, and she found herself cursing the limitations of this netherworld once more.

“Ah, yeah that,” Henry chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “You remember Reanna?”

Regina nodded, giving him a soft smile. "I do."

“Yeahhh,” he drew the word out. “I should’ve listened to you. And the horses. Turns out she’s kind of crazy. Like, psychotic stalker, showed up at my _mom’s_ work to ask her ‘blessing’ to **marry** me. So maybe I packed up my stuff and jumped a plane.”

"You need to be choosier about the women you take interest in, dear." Regina smiled warmly at him. "So what are you going to do with yourself?"

Henry stuck his tongue out at her, then grinned. “I’m not really sure yet. Right now I’m just getting settled, then I’ll probably do the tourist crap and take a bunch of pictures to send to my mom. After that, no idea.”

Regina shook her head in amusement and tilted her head. "How long were you gone this time?"

“Um…” Henry tried to remember when he’d asked Reanna out for the first time. “Almost four months, I think?”

It was torture. She was given the ability to see him in some way, but she was still missing so much of his life. "A long time."

“Well I could see you every night, but then I risk getting addicted to sleeping pills,” Henry lamented. “Never thought I’d miss having these dreams all the time.”

"No, no don't take anything more than necessary. The more you come, the higher risk of getting burned." Regina narrowed her eyes slightly in thought, then continued, "I was just surprised, was all."

“What do you do when I’m not here?” Henry wondered. “How do you not go crazy in here?”

Regina looked around at the flames, then nodded. "It's designed so whomever is here is living with constant nothingness except the thoughts of their own regrets."

Henry was quiet at that, contemplative. “What do you regret?” he asked softly.

"Very little, but there were two very important people in my life I've lost, and most of my regrets are related to them in some way," Regina answered quietly.

“I’m sorry,” Henry murmured. He reached out, his hand moving through hers, causing a strange tingle in his hand. It was as close as he could get to putting his hand over hers in this strange place.

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for, there are reasons I have regrets." She furrowed her brow in curiosity. "Do you never experience that? Is it different because I'm here all the time and you just come sometimes?"

“I-I don’t know,” Henry admitted. “When I was younger, it just scared me. Then I figured out how to sleep without coming here, until the first time I was here after you got here. But I don’t…” Frowning, he asked, as if she might have the answers he lacked, “How did I get here in the first place?”

Regina's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. "I... I don't know. I... You don't remember? Maybe you just happened upon it."

Henry shook his head. “They started out of nowhere when we moved to New York when I was eleven. I don’t remember ever having these dreams before that.”

"What... what was your life like before then?" She had so many questions about his life, what memories he had, what Emma was like for him.

“I dunno, pretty normal,” Henry shrugged. “I grew up in Boston. Nothing really stands out, to be honest.”

"There weren't any special events in your life? Nothing that you like more than anything else?" Regina craved to know everything that made him happy.

“When I was little? Not really. Boston’s kinda fuzzy, actually. I remember a lot more about New York.”

Regina shouldn't have felt happy at his words, but she couldn't help the slight warmth that came from knowing that his made up life with Emma wasn't a picture perfect memory for him. "What's your favorite experience that you've had?"

Henry looked away a little awkwardly. “Would it be… weird if I said it was meeting you?”

"I'm flattered. And I can honestly say that meeting you here has brought me more happiness than you know." Regina smiled softly.

Looking up again, Henry grinned in relief. “I wish I could see you. In person, I mean.”

Shaking her head, Regina sighed softly. "It's not possible."

“Is it not possible to go between here and the Enchanted Forest?” Henry asked, disheartened.

"No, it isn't. There is no method of travel between our worlds anymore." Regina rolled her lips together slowly as she watched him.

Henry’s gaze flicked to her lips briefly. “Anymore? Was there once? Have you been here? I noticed you haven’t asked about any of the places I’ve mentioned, or things like what it means to take a picture and send it to my mom.”

Regina sighed again, rubbing her hands together. "I, uh, yes. I was once in your world. It's a really long, sordid tale, but yes, there used to be portals between the worlds, or access to them anyway."

“Hm,” Henry hummed, wondering if the portals could be found again, or activated, or whatever was needed for it. How would he even go about finding information on something like that?

"Hm? No. No 'hms,' there are no quests to be had." Regina could see a look in his eyes, almost exactly the same as she'd seen in David's anytime he'd felt he had to go on some mission, and she nearly laughed at how her son could be so similar to his grandfather without any memory of ever knowing him.

Henry’s eyes sparkled as he grinned at her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. This isn’t a video game, we don’t go on ‘quests’ here.”

Regina squinted at him, then rolled her eyes. "Fine. No adventures or... I don't know, no researching and discovering these things. It isn't possible. Behave."

“That’s no fun,” he teased. “And I make no promises. Besides, how cool would it be if I could figure out a way to get you out of here?”

Smiling softly, Regina nodded. "Yes, it would be lovely, but portals are dangerous things."

Grinning excitedly, Henry licked his lips, his mind whirring. It was only the third time he’d met her, but his fascination had been sparked from that first time (maybe Reanna looked a bit like her… maybe.) and steadily worked into a crush. He knew enough about fairytales to know that a sleeping curse could only be lifted by some kind of love kiss (true love, first kiss, it was always something like that) and now Regina was saying she would like it if he could break her curse. “I’ll do it,” he promised, nodding. “I’ll bring you out of here.”

"Henry, please, it's dangerous and I don't want you getting hurt." It had been her hope that he'd one day find her and wake her up, but now that he was hellbent on it, she was terrified. Along with that, he didn't know who she was to him, it wouldn't even work.

“I’ll be careful,” he vowed, stepping closer to her and looking down to meet her gaze. His voice lowered as he brought his hand up, skating his fingers along the illusion of the edge of her jaw, his fingertips buzzing, and he said, “But I will save you from this place.”

Regina looked into his eyes, surprised at the tenderness she saw there, and she knew he wouldn't listen to her. "Okay," she relented softly, "but make sure you are. I couldn't... It would only be one more regret for me to live with if anything happened to you."

Henry gave her a slow, warm smile, whispering back, “Okay.” Feeling the same pulling sensation within himself that he’d felt twice now, he added, “I’m waking up now,” and moved his fingers over her lips as he faded from the room.

Furrowing her brow in confusion, Regina touched her lips where he'd tried to. There was an aching warmth that spread through her body and she realized that it wasn't quite as innocent as it should have been. His desire to touch her shouldn't have affected her, but it did, and she found herself wondering if he would succeed on his journey to find her.

~

It was longer than Henry wanted to admit before he was able to get back to the red room, his time taken up with exploring Australia, and surfing the internet to find anything about magic and portals and real-life fairytales. Then there was the trip back to New York when he got a call from his mom about the weird guy in leather and guyliner following her around and trying to give her ‘true love’s kiss.’ It was actually the first real lead he had gotten, although he didn’t tell that to his mom.

When the guy had come around while Emma was off working, Henry went on a walk with him, asking pointed questions about the Enchanted Forest and portals. He convinced the guy -- named Hook, apparently -- to stay away from Emma and let him take over. And that night, being too excited to sleep, he took a sleeping pill again.

Regina felt his presence when he arrived, knew he was there before she even saw him. She hurried to push aside the flames, though it drained her every time she did it. "Henry! I was worried... I thought maybe..." she trailed off with a shake of her head and forced a smile. "How are you?"

“I think I found a way!” Henry greeted excitedly, wishing he could wrap his arms around her and hug her.

"What? But... how?" She shouldn't have doubted him; if there was anyone who could, it was Henry.

“This weird-ass pirate guy from Peter Pan, Captain Hook, he showed up in New York and started badgering my mom, so I came home, and when I ended up meeting him when he was looking for her, I asked about the Enchanted Forest, and he knew my name, and we talked. Turns out he made some kind of deal or something with a mermaid -- they can cross realms, apparently -- to take his ship wherever he wants, in exchange for being on his crew. Who knew a mermaid would wanna be a pirate, right?” Henry explained eagerly. “So now my job is to convince Mom that magic’s a thing and we should go there, because I really don’t want to leave her here alone, and then I can come get you!”

Of course it would be the love-sick pirate who found a way. Regina could hardly contain the excitement she felt at the possibility of seeing Henry again, _really_ seeing him. "Did you... tell him why you were asking, or anything about me?"

Henry shook his head. “Nah, I figured he probably wouldn’t know you, since you’re from different stories. Although he did ask if my memories were back, whatever that means. I told him that I read something online that made me think that fairytales were real.”

"You're very clever, Henry." Regina wondered how that trait would help him with Emma, since it had taken months for her to believe him the first time. "Your mother... how will you make her believe?"

With a rueful smile, Henry shrugged. “I have no idea. I might just end up pulling the ‘don’t you trust me’ card to get her on the ship and then just let the events speak for themselves. Captain Hook says her parents are there, but I’m not sure if that would help or hinder my goal of getting her to come along.”

"I-I would say don't mention it." Regina didn't want to give much away about how she knew Emma or her parents, but she also didn't want him to mention it to her and have her freak out and have the entire mission aborted. She wanted him with her.

Henry considered that, nodding slowly. “Yeah, she has a lot of issues about them.” He fell silent again, alternating between looking at Regina intently, and staring at the floor while chewing his lip.

“Henry… are you all right?” Regina asked softly, noticing his change in demeanor.

“Yeah… yeah,” Henry nodded, smiling at her. “I was just… thinking.”

“What about?”

Taking a deep breath and gathering his courage, he met her gaze steadily, asking, “Do you think it’s possible to fall in love with someone you’ve only met four times?”

Regina’s eyes widened and she pondered her response for a long moment. “Henry, I… um, I don’t know.”

“So… you don’t feel the same way,” he deduced, a little disappointed, even though he’d been expecting that.

“It isn’t… I’m not…” Regina blew out a breath with more force than necessary as she considered her words. She’d certainly had moments of feeling things in a different manner for him than she thought she should, as his mother, but she had pushed them down and blamed it on having someone to talk to on occasion instead of being alone always. “My feelings for you are very confusing to me.”

“Because I’m young?” Henry asked, the only thing he could think of that might be holding her back. “I know I just turned nineteen, but I’m not a child. I know what I want.”

“Your birthday passed?” She hated missing it, but she’d missed seven others, this one shouldn’t hurt as much as it did. Realizing she still hadn’t answered his question, Regina allowed a small nod. “I know that you’re old enough to know what you want. It’s more complicated than that. Why don’t we just… see how it goes, when you’ve met me?”

A little disappointed, Henry stepped back a little. “I have met you,” he said quietly. “But how am I supposed to wake you up if you don’t love me? Captain Hook said only true love’s kiss can break a sleeping curse.”

Knowing that he would get the wrong impression from her words, Regina said them anyway, having gone too far with the hopes that he would find her. “You waking me up isn’t going to be an issue, Henry.”

Henry lit up like a Christmas tree at that, realizing that it wasn’t that Regina didn’t love him, but that, for whatever reason, she couldn’t say the words. That was okay with him, he could wait. Truthfully, he’d rather hear them in person, anyway. “Then I’ll start convincing Mom right away. And hopefully I can be there soon to wake you up.”

"I can't wait," she answered softly. Regina gave him a wide smile, though she felt a pang guilt. How had she gained his affections so easily? Deciding she needed a change of subject, she sat and motioned for him to join her. "Tell me about Australia."

Henry grinned, taking his usual seat on the floor and launching into stories of the places he’d visited and strange things he’d seen. Before he was ready, wakefulness was pulling him away, and before he disappeared he whispered a soft ‘I love you.’

It took entirely too long for Henry’s comfort to convince Emma that magic and fairytales were real, and in the end, he did have to pull the trust card. Even then, when she realized he intended for them to get on the creepy pirate’s ship, she nearly backed out, only agreeing when Henry suggested getting a satellite phone and a GPS in case the guy tried anything. And, of course, bringing her gun.

When she screamed like a little girl as the mermaid opened the portal, drawing the ship bow-first into the ocean only to pop out of the water on the other side with a large splash, Henry decided he was never going to let her live it down.

Once on land, Hook gave them directions to the kingdom of Snow White and her prince, then looked them up and down, heaved a sigh, and purchased a carriage to take them to the castle. Emma was still in a state of shock, her world having literally turned upside-down.

Even with the carriage, the trip took almost an entire day, and it was dark when they arrived at the castle gates. Surprisingly, the guards seemed to know who they were, and let them in despite the late hour, bidding a small man he called Dopey to inform Queen Snow that ‘the savior’ was here.

When David heard the news, he turned to his wife in excitement, smiling and taking her hand to head to the welcoming hall. He couldn't believe it, not until the moment he saw that flash of blonde hair, his grown grandson beside her. "Emma," he breathed, moving to hug her but pausing at the last moment.

Emma immediately put her hands up to ward off the man quickly approaching her. “Whoa, okay, dude, I don’t know who you are, or what the hell is actually going on here, but you better keep your distance if you want to keep your teeth.”

“ _Emma_!” Snow exclaimed, scandalized.

Henry smothered a chuckle. “Mom, chill, we’re here for a reason.”

Keeping a wary eye on the two strangers who knew her name, Emma glanced at her son, replying, “Yeah, well, since you never bothered to tell me said reason, I think I’m allowed to be a little touchy.”

Sobering, Henry nodded, and looked toward the apparent royals that had come to greet them. “I’m looking for Queen Regina,” he said in a firm voice.

Snow gaped at him, wondering how on earth he knew who Regina was, but not anyone else.

David tilted his head at Henry, nodding slowly. "Sure, she's in her chambers. I... I can take you there, if you'd like. Would you like to settle in first? You guys are staying, right?"

“Henry, what’s going on?” Emma asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’ll explain later.” He looked at David and nodded quickly. “Yes we’re staying, and yes, please take me there. I want to see her right away.”

David motioned for Henry to walk beside him, and he led the way to Regina's chambers, Henry at his side and Emma and Snow behind them. They walked the winding halls of the castle until they arrived at her room. "This is where she rests."

Henry took a quick breath, stepping up to the door and slowly pushing it open. The room was rather simple, a few doors branching off from it, a vanity against one wall, a wardrobe on another, and a large bed at the far end. And there, laid out peacefully as if she was simply napping, was the queen, elaborate dress and all.

Slowly, Henry approached the bed, the others hesitantly following at a distance, stopping in the middle of the room when he carefully sat down at the edge of the bed. His eyes moved over the features he’d learned in his dreams and he brought one hand up to gently cup her cheek.

“What--” Snow stepped forward as she spoke, only to be shushed by a confused Emma.

After a moment of drinking in the sight of her, Henry leaned down, his eyes closing as his lips pressed to hers.

Regina felt a pull and a rush of magic pulsating around her. She took a deep breath, opening her eyes to see Henry above her. It worked. He'd found her and kissed her, and it worked. "Henry," she breathed. "You found me."

Everything seemed to hit Henry at once: joy at seeing Regina wake at his kiss, memories of the _real_ first eleven years of his life… sorrow at the inevitable end to the feelings that had grown in the room of flames. “Regina… Mom… I…” He blinked quickly. “I told you I’d save you from that room.”

"So you did." Regina smiled, sitting up and pulling him into her arms. "I missed you so much, Henry." She held him tight, pressing a soft kiss to the side of his head. "I... Henry, I'm glad it was you."

David turned to look at Emma, eyes full of hope. "Emma, do you remember, too?"

Emma nodded slowly, still looking at Henry and his other mother, her brow furrowed.

Hugging her daughter tightly, Snow let tears spill over, “Oh, Emma, we missed you so much!”

“Yeah…” Emma reflexively patted the other woman’s back.

“Emma? What’s wrong?”

Her frown deepening, Emma said, “He kissed her on the lips. He didn’t know who she was and the kiss worked. And he kissed her on the lips.”

David hadn't realized that, having been too caught up in the hope of having his daughter back, but she was right, it didn't make sense. "So... what do you think that means?"

“I don’t know…”

It was Snow who fit the first pieces together, murmuring, “The sleeping curse. They’ve both been under it. The red room.”

On the bed, still holding Regina, Henry turned toward the quiet conversation, replying, “Yes. We… met there,” he explained awkwardly.

"So... you told him how to save us?" David asked, having wondered how Henry and Emma had found them.

Regina shook her head. "No, it was Hook. I couldn't risk telling Henry who I was, I was supposed to give him up, I didn't know what would happen if he knew."

“But True Love’s Kiss?” Snow asked in confusion.

Henry flushed, ducking his head and slowly pulling away from Regina.

Emma’s eyes widened and she shook her head, whispering, “Henry, no…”

"Emma, it's not his fault, he didn't know any better!" Regina defended, shifting to sit beside him. She covered his hand in hers, squeezing it reassuringly.

David was surprised, the situation confusing him. "But how... were you in the room often? How did you fall in love with someone who wasn't really there?"

Henry glanced up, his eyes flashing defiantly. “She was there just as much as any of us are here right now. Just because her body was here, cursed, doesn’t mean every part of who she is wasn’t in that room.”

It was Snow’s turn to widen her eyes at Henry’s vehement defense of his brunette mother. “Apparently it was enough,” she murmured.

David raised his hands in a placating gesture and nodded. "I was just trying to understand, Henry. I'm sorry."

"Can I please just have a moment alone with my son? I haven't been here with him for real in far too long. I've missed so much," Regina interjected, looking over Henry.

Emma allowed her parents to pull her out of the room, but before the door closed behind them, she threw out, “Just remember that he’s your kid.”

Henry narrowed his eyes, glaring at the closed door as it was easier than facing his mother in that moment.

Regina squeezed his hand again, watching his face carefully. He had always been so easy to read. "Henry, I'm sorry. I should have told you the truth. I never should have lied to you."

“I wouldn’t have believed you,” Henry pointed out quietly, glancing back at her quickly. “And you would probably still be cursed.”

"That's true," she answered softly. "Are you mad at me?"

“Of course not.” Henry frowned down at the bedding. “You were as truthful as you could be.”

"Then tell me what's wrong. Please, I-I want this to be a happy thing. I've been stuck in a world without you for too long." Regina dipped her head, trying to look him in the eye.

Henry’s chin wobbled traitorously and he cleared his throat. “I just… now I know why you didn’t return my feelings,” he whispered. “And now… **my** feelings are so confused. Because you’re my mom, but… but you’re also Regina.”

Regina moved her hands to cup his cheeks, her thumbs brushing over his skin. "Henry, darling, I know it's confusing, trust me, _I know_ , but please don't be sad."

Finally meeting her gaze, Henry quietly admitted, “I feel like I lost you at the same time I got you back.”

"Henry, I... did you understand what I said?" she asked gently, uncertain if she should have even said anything.

His expression full of hesitant confusion, Henry thought back to her previous statement. He swallowed hard as the words sank in, and hoarsely asked, “You… feel something too?”

Regina licked her lips, then nodded. "I know I shouldn't, and maybe it's because of how intent you were, or because I was getting to know you without being able to act as a mother, but I, yes..."

“Can I… kiss you?” Henry asked tentatively, glancing down at her mouth.

Nodding hesitantly, Regina kept one hand on his face, the other moving to take his hand back.

Just as hesitant, Henry slid his free hand around her waist, leaning closer and tilting his head to get the right angle, their lips touching lightly.

Regina let out a soft sigh against his mouth, scared of what this meant for her, for them. She leaned forward, letting her body react to him, trying to figure out just how deeply she felt.

Henry’s palm splayed across the small of her back, the fingers of his other hand twining with hers as he parted his lips slightly, fitting them against hers so he bracketed her lower lip with the barest hint of suction.

She pulled back, her lip releasing from his with a light _pop._ Regina looked at him, eyes wide and curious.

“I’m sorry,” Henry said quickly, licking his lips. “Was that… too forward?”

Shaking her head, Regina sighed softly, then dropped her forehead to rest against his shoulder. "No, it wasn't too forward," she mumbled against him.

Henry rubbed her back soothing, murmuring, “What’s wrong?”

Everything was wrong. Nothing was wrong. She didn't know how to vocalize what she was feeling. Regina looked back up at him and cradled his face in her hands. Taking him in for a long moment, feeling his skin against hers and reminding herself that he was really there, she pressed her lips to his again.

Letting out a happy little noise, Henry slipped one hand into her hair, gently holding her closer as he slowly moved his lips over hers.

Emma's face and words were nagging at her thoughts as she kissed him, but Regina couldn't bring herself to stop, not even to desire stopping. Her right hand slipped down to his neck, her thumb caressing his jaw. Uncertain of what initiative he would take, she slid her tongue along his bottom lip.

Henry groaned and parted his lips, pressing his tongue forward to slip against hers, his hand at her back pulling her closer so their upper bodies were pressed together.

Regina moved her other hand from his face to his hair, cradling his head and scratching his scalp. She pressed her tongue into his mouth and concentrated on everything he was making her feel.

Sucking on her tongue and teasing it with his own as she explored, Henry sighed, happy to have Regina in his arms, even if he did now remember that she was also his mother.

Slowing the kiss, Regina sucked his bottom lip for a moment, then pulled away. She opened her eyes, looking at his face, eyes skirting over his features. "Emma is going to kill me," she breathed.

“That implies I’d let her,” Henry murmured back, nuzzling her cheek and hairline, breathing in the scent of her.

Regina buried her face into his neck, a smile splitting her face. She felt somewhat ridiculous, like she was acting like a smitten teenager. "I really missed you, darling. I missed so much of your life," she whispered against him.

“I know.” Henry held her tighter, not wanting to let got for even a second, lest she disappear. “But you don’t have to miss any more of it, ever,” he promised.

"You're nineteen. I missed you becoming a man... I missed you learning to drive, and graduating and... I missed too much," she whispered sadly, bringing her head back up and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

“I wish you could’ve been there,” Henry agreed, meeting her sad gaze. He looked at her, re-familiarizing himself with her features, and with a pang of realization, he said, “You haven’t aged.”

Regina shook her head. "No. The sleeping curse freezes time for whomever is under it."

“Is it weird that I’m glad you look just like I remember?” Henry asked, tracing his fingers over her features.

Chuckling, she shook her head. "I don't know. But as much as I miss my little boy, I'm very glad you don't look just like I remember."

Henry grinned widely at that, and pulled her into another gentle kiss.

Regina held his kiss, leaving it light and easy. She broke it sooner than she wanted, but it was inevitable that the others would come back. "We should go see everyone else. I bet your grandparents would like a proper reunion with you."

“Yeah, I guess,” Henry sighed, disappointed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see his grandparents again, now that he knew who they were to him, but he wanted more time alone with Regina.

"Hey, it'll be all right. If you think I'm going to let them keep you long, you're misguided. I want to hear every little thing I've missed." Regina smiled softly, pressed her forehead to his. "Now come on, it's late anyway. Don't you want to meet your uncle?"

Blinking, Henry asked, “My what?”

Regina raised her eyebrows. "I guess if you didn't see him, he's already in bed. Snow and David had a child. I... They would visit me, I could hear them, but I'm not sure how long ago."

“I wonder how Mom’ll take that,” Henry mused. “And it is pretty late, he’s probably sleeping. I’ll meet him tomorrow, but you’re right, I guess we should go see Grandma and Grandpa. I mean, you haven’t seen them for a long time, either.”

"No, I haven't, though I know Snow visited me often." Regina slid off the bed and had to sit back down for a minute, her muscles weak from going unused for so long.

Henry stood and immediately leaned over her, stilling an arm around her shoulders. “Are you okay? Do you need a hand?”

Regina shook her head. "I just need a second. I haven't moved in over seven years. Just give me one minute."

“You sure?” Henry ran his fingers down her cheek, watching her worriedly.

Pursing her lips, Regina nodded and stretched her muscles. She sat for a moment, willing her magic to strengthen her body, then tried to get up again. She was able to stand without a problem then, at first taking careful steps forward until she was certain she would be fine then she straightened and nodded to Henry. "All right, let's go."

Henry smiled then, sliding his arm from her shoulders and down one arm, taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together. “Hey,” he murmured, pulling her closer and wrapping his other arm around her waist, drawing her against him.

Regina smiled up at him, leaning in and giving him a soft kiss. "'Hey,' what?" she asked quietly, her smile turning to a smirk.

“I love you.” Henry kissed her again, slow and soft and deep.

Returning his kiss for a long moment, she pulled back and ran her tongue out along her lips. "I love you, too."

Giving her a bright smile, Henry finally pulled away, though he kept his hold on her hand as they left the room.

Regina tugged him with her to the door, pulling it open and finding the others still right there. She tugged her hand from Henry's and gave a small smile to Snow and David.

At seeing Regina awake and on her feet again, Snow let out a sob, tears falling down her cheeks as she launched herself at the other woman, hugging her tightly. “I missed you so much, Regina,” she whimpered.

Emma’s eyes widened in surprise at her mother’s reaction and she glanced at David, who gave a little shrug, quietly saying, “It’s been a long time.”

Regina slowly brought her arms up and patted Snow's back, whispering, "Thank you for coming so often."

David smiled, reaching one arm out and squeezing Regina's shoulder. "It's good to see you awake."

She returned his smile and nodded. "It's good to be awake."

Henry grinned happily, and when Snow finally let go of Regina, he got his own tight hug in.

“I can’t believe how much you’ve grown!” Snow exclaimed, lifting her head to look into his face.

“Yeah, that happens,” Henry laughed, and hugged David as well.

"A young man now!" David laughed, clapping Henry on his shoulder as he pulled away. "How's your life?"

“Good. Better now,” he beamed at Regina.

Emma caught the look and piped up, “Yeah, he has _both_ his _moms_ back now.”

Regina nodded, tilting her head at Emma's response. "Funny you care about his affections _now_ , since you couldn't be bothered to care when he was dating a creep."

Emma’s eyes narrowed and Henry shifted uncomfortably. “Whatever else Reanna was, she wasn’t related to him. And since you’re _so_ experienced raising a teenage boy, you know that telling them they’re not allowed to date a certain person only makes them want to even more.”

“And yet,” Henry muttered.

"Excuse me for giving up the only person I've ever loved more than myself so that I could save _everyone_ in that damn town. I missed everything because I was saving you." Regina narrowed her eyes and stepped closer to Emma. "So the next time you want to criticize my knowledge of raising a child, reconsider."

“Yeah, and you probably blame Snow and David for not knowing how to be parents because they put me in the tree, nevermind that you cast the curse,” Emma shot back.

Snow coughed awkwardly, looking down at the stone floor.

"Get out of my face." Regina tightened her jaw and pushed past Emma, heading down the corridor to go outside. She wanted fresh air and needed to get away from Emma.

Giving Emma an entirely unimpressed look, Henry flatly stated, “So I guess you don’t know yet that you have a brother,” and turned to go after Regina.

Emma turned her gaze to her parents. “ _What_?”

David nodded. "Yes, his name is Neal. He's seven."

“ _Neal_? Are you _serious_?” Emma threw her arms up. “You named your kid after the guy who knocked me up at seventeen and sent me to jail for his crime?!”

“Emma, it’s not like that,” Snow protested, trying to make her voice soothing. “Neal was incredibly brave and helpful in our fight against the Wicked Witch.”

Shaking her head, Emma turned. “I can’t deal with this. I need to sleep.”

David sighed and gave her a short nod. "We'll show you to a room where you can sleep."

“Fine.” Emma followed him down the hall, shutting the door to the room he directed her to and collapsing on the bed, reminding herself, “This is my life.”

Meanwhile, Regina stepped outside into the fresh air and took a deep breath, eyes tracing the lines of the trees against the dark sky. She wrapped her arms around herself and let the evening settle over her.

Henry stepped up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist and whispering, “Okay?”

Regina nodded, letting herself lean into his hold. "I couldn't have expected better than I got."

“I’m sorry Mom was a jerk,” he sighed, kissing the side of her head.

"I would be, too, were the situations reversed." Regina covered his hands with hers and turned her head, pressing her forehead to his cheek. "There is no universe where Emma is going to be okay with this."

“I’m an adult, I can make my own choices,” Henry pointed out, holding her closer.

Regina nodded again. "I know. But she's your mother."

“That doesn’t make her right.”

Turning in his arms, Regina rested her hands on his biceps, sighing softly. "I'm practically nothing to you, Henry. I raised you for the first half of your life, but Emma had all the hard years. You had me with you four times in dreams. That's... how are you so certain?"

Henry frowned slightly. “It… felt right. From the beginning, that first dream. And once I found out you were real? I knew. I just… knew.”

"And having your memories of me as your mother... that just... means nothing?" Regina looked carefully into his eyes, not entirely sure what she was hoping to hear.

“Of course not,” Henry murmured. “But… that was a long time ago. I hadn’t hit puberty, or gained an interest in girls, any of that. It seems like a different life. And maybe it’s wrong, but you being my mother, you raising me until the curse had to be reversed, that just makes me love you more.”

Regina pressed her forehead to his shoulder and groaned softly. "I'm scared."

Henry brought one hand up, cupping the back of her neck and massaging gently. “You have nothing to be afraid of.”

"And if it doesn't work out?" she asked quietly. "Henry, there're almost two entire decades between us physically, and actual years lived? So many more than that."

“Why does that make a difference?” Henry asked, tilting his head and cupping her cheek. “A lot of people make it work with an age difference. I love you. And I desire you.”

Regina covered the hand he had on her cheek with her own, and she chuckled softly. "You're so tall." Pressing a soft kiss to his lips, she smiled. "Sorry for the change of subjects, I just noticed how large your hand was beneath mine."

Henry exhaled a breath slowly in an attempt to corral the innuendo that was rolling around his brain at her comment. “Yeah, I think I got my height from Grandpa.”

"Clearly, since your father and Rumple weren't very tall." Regina shook her head slowly, biting her lip and furrowing her brow. "I keep thinking of the last time I hugged you and you were so small."

Tilting his head inquisitively, Henry quietly asked, “Are you upset because I’ve grown up, or because I’ve grown up and have non-familial feelings for you? Because if you want, I can try to push them away. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable at all.”

"I'm not upset you have feelings for me, I'm just, maybe sad I missed it all. I know it would be different if I'd been around for you growing up and I'm not saying I regret feeling... _things_ for you," Regina answered slowly, "I just didn't picture missing half your life."

Chuckling, Henry nodded and pulled her closer to rest his chin in her hair, her face tucked against his neck. “You and me both.”

Regina inhaled a shaky breath against him and pressed a soft kiss to his neck. "I couldn't bear missing another minute."

“You don’t have to,” Henry replied, his voice deepening a little at the touch of her lips.

"I really hope not." Regina moved her arms around his waist, squeezing him tightly. "I love you so much."

“I love you, too.” Henry stepped forward so Regina’s back pressed against the balcony railing. Bringing a hand to cup her jaw, he drew her into a kiss, his tongue sliding over the seam of her lips.

Parting her lips for him, Regina slid her tongue out to meet his. She pulled him harder against her, letting the kiss turn more heated than the others they'd shared.

Henry groaned into her mouth, his hand moving to tangle in her hair, loosening the elaborate style it had been held in for more than seven years. Exploring her mouth eagerly and pressing tight against her, he held her as close as her dress would allow, suddenly missing the clothes of Storybrooke.

Regina's body was on fire, and her hands moved to grip his sides, tugging him and trying to get him closer, even if her dress wasn't allowing it. She dragged her teeth over his tongue, pulling back to bite his bottom lip.

Hissing a profanity, Henry opened his eyes, looking down at his mother heatedly. His gaze flicked from hers, down to the ample cleavage on display, and further to the elaborately embroidered dress. He kissed her again, deep and urgent, and murmured, “I want to touch you.”

Pulling away and breathing rapidly, Regina nodded and took his hand, pulling him quietly through the corridors. She could have used magic, but she wanted to be certain that if she was taking him back to her room, no one else was awake.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Henry pulled Regina against him again, pressing his lips against her neck, finding her pulsepoint and sucking lightly.

Regina whimpered quietly, tilting her head to the side and reaching up to pull the pins out of her hair. It fell in heavy waves around her shoulders, and she breathed a sigh of relief at the loss of tightness.

Henry felt the soft waves brushing against his own hair, and he lifted his head again, taking a long strand between his fingers. “Wow,” he murmured, smiling, the dark hair like a curtain that fell all the way to her waist.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, a smile creeping over her lips. "You like my hair?" Regina'd certainly never had it this long in front of him, and the men she'd been with had always enjoyed it, she just didn't expect him to enjoy it so much.

He hummed an affirmative, carefully running the fingers of both hands through it, an image coming to the forefront of his mind of her over him, the long, dark locks the only thing covering her as she moved on him, and his eyes dilated sharply as he sucked in a quick breath.

Letting her fingers slip beneath the bottom of his shirt, Regina scratched lightly at his skin and looked up at him. "What are you thinking about?"

“You,” Henry responded, backing her up closer to the bed and trying to find some way of getting her dress off, “bare, except for your long, beautiful hair.”

Regina raised an eyebrow and held back a smirk by rolling her lips together. Gathering her hair into one hand, she turned and pulled the tresses over the front of her shoulder. "Unzip me," she whispered, turning her face and smiling shyly.

Henry’s breath caught slightly, but his fingers were steady as he took the zipper between them, drawing it down. As the dress parted, he stepped closer, moving his mouth across the bared skin of her shoulders.

She felt half sexy, at least. The black corset on her torso was sexy, but the slip to her knees was far from it, and as Regina pushed her dress down, she shoved that with it.

Hands wandering, Henry moaned against her skin when he felt lace beneath his fingers at her hips, and he couldn’t resist the urge to follow it down between her thighs, cupping her sex with one large hand.

Regina's hips jerked back on instinct, but after that initial reaction, she moved them back and bit her lip. "Sorry... I just wasn't quite expecting that yet."

“I should’ve asked first,” Henry acknowledged, moving his hand back to her hip and bringing his mouth to her ear, flicking the lobe with his tongue and sucking it into his mouth.

"No, it's okay, it's just, uh, been a really long time, obviously." Regina chuckled nervously. "I'm actually a little embarrassed at how turned on I am."

Henry sucked harder at her earlobe and slid his hand back between her thighs, this time pressing his fingers against her and feeling the wetness soaking through.

Moaning, Regina swallowed thickly and moved one hand up to the back of his neck. "Didn't I tell you no sex on the first date?" she teased, knowing very well she wasn't in any mood to turn him away.

Chuckling lowly, Henry murmured, “That’s okay, this is our fifth date.” He rocked his hand against her, the other sliding up her body to caress her breasts above the edge of her corset.

"Henry," she gasped, pulling back to turn and sit on the bed, bending at the waist to untie and shove off her boots.

Henry groaned in disappointment as she moved away from him, but as she continued to undress, he did the same, pulling his shirt over his head, lean muscles bunching and stretching, before moving his hands to the waistband of his jeans, popping the button open.

Once her boots were off, Regina knelt on the edge of the bed and helped him with the zipper of his jeans. She watched his face carefully as she did so, then let her gaze drop to his torso in hunger.

Hissing in a breath at the naked want in her eyes, Henry ran his fingers through her hair again, breathing out, “God, you’re beautiful.”

"As are you," she countered, moving her legs out from under her and sitting back on the bed. Regina leaned forward, pressing soft kisses to his abdomen, her tongue snaking out on the last and licking a small line over his muscles.

“God,” Henry breathed again, leaning down to crawl onto the bed, urging her back as he did. He still wore his jeans, although a quick adjustment had the hard bulge of his erection pressing through the open fly, only held back by his boxers. Settling against her as she laid back, he let himself press between her thighs, feeling her heat through the two layers of fabric.

Regina let out a thick moan, her desire heightening. She leaned up enough to meet him better and pressed her lips to his, forgoing the previous gentleness and slipping her tongue past his lips right away.

Henry didn’t give even a second’s implication of not allowing her access, and he slid one hand up into her hair, the other moving down to grip her thigh, pulling her leg up against his hip and grinding against her.

Whimpering, Regina moved one hand to his hip and pulled him as he moved against her, her own hips rocking up into him. "Gods I want you."

“Yes,” he groaned back, lifting himself up on one elbow and bringing his hand up to search her corset for the lacing holding it together. “I need you naked, _now_ ,” he growled, kissing her again.

Regina chuckled darkly. "A queen doesn't undress herself, darling."

“Well if _my queen_ would be so helpful as to give me some pointers, she wouldn’t have to,” Henry snarked back lightly.

"The lace is on the back, ties at the top. I trust you can figure out my panties on your own?" Regina teased, giving him a teasing kiss.

Henry just growled again, lifting himself to his knees to flip her over onto her stomach, nipping her shoulder as he untied the lacing as quickly as possible. “You are such a tease.”

Regina shook her head and turned to half look at him. "If I was a tease, I wouldn't be letting you get me naked and fuck me, would I?"

Henry’s breath whooshed out, his fingers stalling as images of doing just that rose in his mind. Reflexively grinding against her ass, he groaned at the pressure and began yanking harder at the laces until he could finally toss the accursed garment away, immediately bringing his mouth back to her skin, trailing kisses and licks down her spine.

Arching her back, Regina sighed and raised her hips higher into the air. He was gentle and sweet, things she'd not experienced with any lover before, and it had her falling apart beneath him and he hadn't even really done anything yet.

As he reached the base of her spine, Henry gripped the sides of her panties with his hands, pulling them down slowly, teasing himself with the reveal of her skin. He groaned, wanting to immediately dive in, find her sex with his tongue and go to town, but he forced himself to pull her panties all the way off and moved back up at an aching pace, kissing and nibbling the insides of her legs as he did.

Regina reached one hand back and shooed him off, waiting until she didn't feel his lips for a moment to pull her legs up and sit up, her legs crossed in front of her. "I want to see you for all of this. I need to know it isn't a dream, okay?" she whispered, eyes wide as she waited for his response.

Henry grinned, his heart feeling like it was bursting, and he nodded. “Yeah. This isn’t a dream,” he agreed, sitting back on his heels across from her, his gaze roaming her naked body, the sight making his cock pulse.

Cupping his cheeks, Regina pulled him to her and pressed her lips against his. She kissed him fervently, her tongue slipping into his mouth again and sliding along his.

Meeting the kiss enthusiastically, Henry again shifted over her, holding himself up on one arm and bringing the other to her waist, skimming up her side to cup one breast.

Regina rocked her hips up and moaned into his mouth as she tried to get comfortable in the new position she hadn't quite been expecting. She shifted just slightly, opening her thighs more so he could settle between them.

It wasn’t until Henry pressed forward against her that he remembered that he was still mostly clothed, and he spared one hand to impatiently push his jeans and boxers down, managing to toe off his shoes and socks while he wiggled out of his clothes, still kissing Regina.

Her eyes widened slightly when she pulled away from the kiss, her mouth moving down his jaw. She was really going to do this, _they_ were going to. Trailing her lips still along his jaw, she slid her tongue out against the edge there and nipped at his skin.

Moaning softly, Henry settled against her again, his erection sliding against her lengthwise, her wetness coating the underside. “Sure about this?” he breathed.

Regina nodded. "Yes. So entirely sure." She leaned up and kissed him again, brushing her nose against his and smiling. "I really want this. I... I just really do."

“Me too,” he whispered back, nipping her lower lip and reaching between them to grasp his erection, sliding it along the length of her sex then bringing the tip to her entrance. “I’m gonna go slow, okay?”

"Okay. Uh... are you... have you, um," Regina closed her eyes and shook her head, finally saying, "have you done this before?"

Henry’s cheeks flushed, and he nodded. “Once. Kinda. It was… not good.”

Regina kissed him and smirked. "Well... I can promise you I'm plenty good."

“It wasn’t that,” Henry protested slightly, but grinned. The grin faded as he remembered, “I accidentally hurt her.”

Furrowing her brow, Regina asked, "How?"

Rubbing the head of his cock against her again, Henry shyly murmured, “I’m… larger... than average. I went too fast.”

Regina pushed him up slightly, tilting her head and looking between their bodies. She bit her lip and grinned. "All right."

“Do you approve?” Henry asked, a bit of male pride showing through.

"I do indeed." Regina licked her lips, grinning again. "It's been awhile, but you won't have to be gentle with me."

Grinning at the praise, Henry pressed into her, going slow as he’d said he would, despite the implication that he didn’t have to. It felt like heaven, he thought as his hips came to rest against hers, her wet heat gripping him tightly and making him moan.

Regina let out a thick moan once he'd filled her, keeping her hips still and letting her body adjust to him for a moment. "You feel incredible."

“So do you,” Henry replied, curling his upper body so he could explore her breasts with his mouth, still reveling in the way she felt around him.

She rolled her hips slowly against him as he moved his mouth on her. Regina had really missed sex, and somehow, even with all the reasons being with Henry should be wrong, she was glad it was him bringing her back to it.

“God,” Henry whispered shakily, beginning to move with her, drawing out part-way and stroking back in with the rhythm of her hips. He finally reached a nipple with his mouth and circled it with his tongue, then drew it between his lips.

"Oh Henry," Regina breathed, moving one hand to the back of his head, the other resting over his shoulder, fingers splayed over his back.

Humming, Henry smiled, pairing a gentle nip with his teeth with a more solid thrust.

Regina nearly shivered in pleasure, dropping her head hard against the pillow and moaning. "Fuck, Henry, yes... just like that, sweetheart."

Henry groaned, mumbling, “Tell me what’s too much,” before stroking and biting a bit harder.

Chuckling darkly, she tugged lightly at his hair and shook her head. "I doubt you'll get there, but I will, if you do."

Henry told himself that it wasn’t a challenge, but he found himself being rougher, regardless. Biting and tugging at her nipples with his teeth, moving his hips faster and harder, fucking her relentlessly. And it felt so deliciously _good_ , letting himself off his internal leash a little.

Regina hadn't expected him to give in so much, but she mostly certainly wasn't going to take issue with it. She moved her hips faster to meet his pace, letting out little moans, her voice bouncing with each thrust he gave.

“So fucking sexy,” he growled, lifting his head to claim her mouth, tongue pressing between her lips. “You’re gonna come for me,” he said, one hand sliding between them to where they were joined, his thumb rubbing firmly over her clit. “And it’s gonna be so good.”

"I don't doubt it," she answered softly, legs quivering slightly at the added touch. Regina brought one hand to her mouth, biting down on her wrist as she let out a louder moan.

“No, no,” Henry protested immediately, his voice soft but still firm. “I want to hear you. Let me hear you.” He circled his thumb around her clit, then flicked across the tip, syncing the motions with his thrusts.

Regina whimpered, then moved her hand away and shook her head. "There are other people in this castle, Henry."

Henry abruptly pulled away, drawing out of her completely and kneeling on all fours above her, erection slick with her arousal. “Then maybe you should soundproof the room. Magic can do that, right?”

Raising an eyebrow, Regina set a spell over the room, then said, "I don't tolerate games when I'm being fucked, Henry."

Watching the magic soak into the walls and fade, Henry grinned down at her darkly. “Then it’s a good thing I’m not playing,” he said, and thrust into her again, immediately resuming his driving rhythm.

"Good boy," she barely managed, following the words with a series of clipped sounds that fell halfway between moaning and whimpering.

Henry growled in response, biting down on her nipple and tugging on it before laving it generously with his tongue. Leaning forward, he pulled her hands up above her head, pinning them with his own large hand. “You feel so fucking good around my cock, so hot and wet.”

"Fuck, Jesus... Henry, just like that." Regina sighed, fully putting aside any issue she may have had with him being the one she desired so much. In that moment, he was only Henry, the man she wanted, not Henry, the little boy she'd raised.

Continuing to pound into her, Henry trailed his lips up her chest, brushing them softly along her exposed throat before he declared, “Mine,” and bit, his free hand returning to her clit again and rubbing circles over it hard and fast, needing her to come before he did.

Regina cried out a little then, the sound thick and somewhat raspy. She pushed her head harder against the pillow, pressing her throat harder to his mouth and lifting her shoulders off the bed. "So close."

“Good,” he murmured against her skin. “You’re gonna come so hard for me, aren’t you? Fuck, wanna feel you come on my cock.” Groaning, he flexed his fingers around her wrists, squeezing them tighter and biting her again, his mouth pressing hard against her throat, pushing on her airway.

She'd always had a choking kink, but not one man, or woman for that matter, had ever used their mouth to do it, and fuck it was good. Regina came for him, hard, and the noises she made were strangled. But her body stilled under his touch, only for a moment, before she began rocking with him lazily.

Henry groaned again, releasing the pressure, but not removing his open mouth from her skin, his own cry of release vibrating against her as his hips stuttered and jerked as he filled her. “Fuck,” he hissed, dragging his lips over her neck and slowly lifting his head as they gently rocked together, drawing out their shared pleasure.

Regina raised her head, pressing her lips softly to his, kissing him tenderly as she came down from her orgasm. She tugged against his hand, wanting the use of her own hands again.

Chuckling a little, Henry released her, hooking both hands under her shoulders. “Hey, beautiful,” he whispered.

She gave him a soft smile, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Hey you," she answered quietly in return.

Pulling in a deep breath, Henry kissed her gently, smiling in return. “That was… phenomenal.”

"It was," Regina agreed. "Everything you've dreamed of, then?"

“Mmmm.” Henry grinned again. “More than. So much more than I could have ever imagined.”

It was Regina's turn to chuckle then, but it was light and happy, a way she hadn't truly felt in so long, even before she went under the sleeping curse. "You were wonderful."

“Yeah?” Henry asked, almost turning shy. “I wasn’t… I didn’t do anything you didn’t like?”

Nodding, Regina kissed his cheek and nuzzled into him. "No," she answered, half on a laugh. "Not at all."

“Your neck is all red,” he pointed out, partly apologetic, but mostly rather proud of himself. Wrapping his arms tighter around her, he rolled them over, his arms getting tired from propping himself up over her.

Regina let out a soft puff of breath when she landed against him, then rested her cheek on his shoulder, her face upturned to look at him. "No... that does not bother me at all. I'm perfectly pleased with how that went."

“I’m glad.” Henry smiled and ran his hands down her back, humming at the silkiness of her long hair draping across his fingers.

"I've missed you so much, Henry." Regina pressed a quick kiss to his shoulder, then lowered her head again.

“I missed you, too,” he whispered back, pressing his lips to her forehead. “Even if I didn’t really know it. And then once I met you again… I knew you were everything.”

Regina rolled her lips together, smiling against him. "This was not how I thought you waking me up would go."

“I bet,” Henry chuckled, then sobered, asking, “When did you do it?”

"Almost immediately. First I tried to bury my heart, but Snow stopped me and gave me one of her ridiculous speeches. So I tried, not for very long, but I tried, and I knew I couldn't live without you." Regina sighed softly, pushing up on him to look into his eyes. "I couldn't bear it."

Henry cupped her cheek, looking up at her with sympathetic eyes. “I know. I knew… before I forgot, I knew you would do this, or something like it. I knew you’d have to. And… I hate that you were in that place for so long, but I’m kind of glad, too. Because otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”

Regina leaned down and kissed him softly, pulling back slowly again to look at him. "I don't regret it. I'm glad I have you back, and I'm so proud of you for finding a way, even if this isn't the place I want you to be."

Frowning slightly, Henry asked, “What do you mean? I want to be where you are.”

"Oh darling, I know, I want that, too. I just mean that I don't want _us_ to be here. I hate this place."

“So let's go back,” Henry said simply. “Remember I said that Hook has a mermaid on his crew? She’s pretty nice for a pirate. We can go back. I doubt Mom would want to stay here, either. We might not have Storybrooke, but there are a lot of small towns around.”

Regina raised her eyebrows, her mouth opening, then closing, then opening again. "I thought you always wanted to be here. To live in a castle and be a prince, and live the life of a hero."

Henry smiled a little wryly, gently pointing out, “I’m not eleven anymore. I like modern medicine, electricity, my car, all of that. Besides. I wouldn’t ever make you stay somewhere you hate.”

"Well excuse me for being out of date on your living desires," Regina sassed. "What about the others? You don't want to be around them?"

“No, I do…” Henry furrowed his brow in thought. “But I’d rather live there and you’d rather live there and Mom’d rather live there. And there are probably other people here, too, who’d want to go back.”

Nodding, Regina moved off him and sat up, pulling the sheets around her and looking down at him. "How could we possibly get them all on a ship?"

Henry frowned and reached up to tug the sheet away. “We might have to bribe them to do multiple trips,” he admitted.

Regina tugged the sheet back and wrapped it around herself again. "I am cold. Brat." She smiled at him, then poked his shoulder. "And how do you think we're going to bribe them?"

“Well Mom kinda had a thing for Hook before, maybe bribe him with a date?” Henry pulled the sheet away again and drew her back against him before tucking the sheet around them both.

"That's practically prostitution, Henry." Regina rolled her eyes and kissed his chest. "You can't make deals on someone else's behalf, darling."

“Which is why I’ll ask her first, of course,” Henry stuck his tongue out at her. “Either way, we’re going back. If nobody else can fit on the ship, they can come up with their own bribe.”

Regina nodded slowly, chewing the inside of her lip. "All right. If you're sure, then I'm sure that would be lovely."

Henry grinned proudly. “Good,” he nodded, and kissed her firmly.

She held his kiss, her arm wrapping around his side. Humming against his lips, Regina smiled and pulled back. "I love you, Henry."

“I love you, too,” Henry returned, smiling back. “Do you want to talk to Mom and the rest tomorrow?”

"We probably should. We also should probably get dressed."

“Dressed?” Henry asked, confused. “Why? Aren’t we gonna sleep?”

Regina looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Not like... this," she answered, motioning her hand between them.

Distinctly feeling like he was missing something obvious, Henry slowly asked, “Why not?”

"Because if Emma is still the same person she was when you two left, which I'm guessing she is from her words earlier, she won't hesitate to come barging in here in the morning to find you." Regina pushed up to have a better look at him.

Understanding dawning, Henry grinned a little and shrugged. “So?”

Regina shook her head and sighed. "So, I care. We're already going to be dealing with telling them about this tomorrow, I don't want to make it worse by them seeing us naked with each other."

Letting out a much put-upon a sigh, Henry reluctantly agreed. “If we must.”

"Thank you. Now I'm going to go put something on, and you can either wear what you wore here or I can use magic to give you some pajamas," Regina said, fully sitting up and looking around the room.

“Pajamas, please,” Henry replied, watching Regina move as if he’d never get the chance to see her naked again.

Regina suddenly felt awkward about being naked with him for no reason, with no intent to act upon it. She tugged a sheet with her, wrapping it snugly around her body and moving to her wardrobe. Once she found a nice sleeping gown, she tugged it over her head, then let the sheet drop.

“That was anti-climatic,” Henry lamented, still stretched out on the bed, unabashedly naked.

Moving back to the bed, she climbed in beside him and waved her hand over his body, dressing him in a t-shirt and flannel pants. "You will have plenty of chances to see me naked. Besides, I'm not kicking you out of my bed, just making sure we're both dressed. And I didn't bother putting on a bra or underwear. Take what you can get." She winked at him as she laid down to settle against him.

“Mmm,” Henry hummed, grinning back and sliding his hands down and under her nightgown. “I think I can work with that.” Nuzzling into her hair, he sighed happily.

Regina chuckled as she leaned her head against his. "Spoiled. I bet Emma spoiled you, too. You have almost always gotten just your way, haven't you, darling?"

Rolling one shoulder in a shrug, Henry replied, “Probably, but I don’t know any different.” He stifled a yawn and kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”

"I love you, too. You know that, right?" Regina settled in to rest her head back on his shoulder, her arm slung across his stomach, fingers tracing circles against his side.

“Of course I do. There’s no way I could doubt that.” He ran his fingers over her back, enjoying being able to actually _touch_ her.

Regina smiled against him, leaning up to brush her lips against his cheek. "Get some sleep, baby."

“Yes, ma’am,” Henry chuckled, closing his eyes obediently and settling into the surprisingly comfortable bed.

Rolling her eyes, Regina pinched his side. Her eyelids soon fluttered shut and she fell asleep beside him, happy she would be waking up when the dawn came.

Henry grinned, snuggling her closer as he followed her into unconsciousness.

~

Regina woke early, early enough to see the sunrise, and it felt wonderful to see it again. The sun was dancing through the balcony door windows, settling across Henry's features and she could swear in that moment that she'd never seen anything more beautiful in her entire life, and how it had changed would probably never stop surprising her, but she wouldn't give it up for anything. She leaned up just slightly, enough to lightly press her lips to the underside of his jaw, before settling back against him with a soft smile on her face.

Henry mumbled quietly at the movement, reaching up with the hand that wasn’t wrapped around Regina’s waist to scratch at his nose then sighing contentedly. He was warm, he was comfortable, and he was encased in an indistinct sense of happiness.

Letting her eyes close again, Regina squeezed his waist, trying to fall back asleep. She didn't think she would, or could, since she'd spent so long under the curse, but he was warm and comfortable to lay beside, and she wanted to stay in his arms awhile longer.

Emma woke up with the sun, and made her way back to Regina’s chambers from memory; aside from a couple wrong turns and needing to backtrack, she was rather impressed with herself at how quickly she found it in the maze-like castle. She knocked as she opened the door, and despite having somewhat expected it, her expression turned thunderous at the sight of her son -- _their_ son -- wrapped together with the other woman.

Regina heard the door open, and she knew immediately who it would be. She pushed herself up off Henry's chest, shifting her body to face the door and pulling the quilt up around her, despite the nightgown she was wearing. "Emma, good morning," she said, her tone as neutral as she could make it.

“Really? _Good morning_?” Emma hissed, planting her hands on her hips and glaring.

“Nnn, c’m back,” Henry groaned sleepily, limply reaching out for Regina.

“Henry, wake up!” Emma called loudly.

Startling, Henry snapped his eyes open, looking around in confusion for a long moment. When he saw Regina, he couldn’t help but smile, realizing that the night before hadn’t been a dream. Then his gaze shifted to Emma, and the smile faded.

"I'm not sure what else you want me to say, Emma." Regina ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it over one shoulder and sighing.

“Mom?” Henry asked, his voice deep and raspy with sleep. “Why are you in our room at,” he looked out the window, “too-early-o’clock?”

“‘ _Our_ ’ room?” Emma’s voice rose in volume and pitch.

Regina sighed, using her magic to cover herself in a robe before climbing out of bed. "Would you like to discuss this when we're all dressed and properly awake?"

“I’d really rather discuss this now.”

“Mom,” Henry said flatly. “We’ll see you for breakfast. Out, please.”

Emma hesitated, then, glaring at Regina one last time, turned on her heel and left the room.

Regina crossed her arms over her chest and turned to Henry. "Well that was a good start to the morning."

Henry huffed out a sigh and rolled onto his side to push his face into the pillow. After a second, he tilted his head to glance up at Regina, holding out one arm. “Sleep more?” he mumbled into the pillow.

"We probably shouldn't. If I recall, your grandparents aren't particularly late sleepers. Come on, get up and I'll change your clothes. We can nap later." Regina went to her wardrobe to find an outfit, not necessarily wanting to dress in her full royal garb, but she didn't have much else here.

Grumbling a little, Henry pulled himself upright, following her and watching curiously. “Oo, that red one looks slinky,” he commented, wrapping his arms around her and grinning into her neck.

Regina raised an eyebrow and turned her face to look at him. "I can wear that, then. I'm not sure you can handle it."

“As long as you don’t mind me staring at you like a starving man.”

"Your mother might." Regina turned in his arms and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Henry returned the kiss, drawing it out before resting his forehead against hers and ruefully agreeing, “Yeah, she would.”

She smiled then, turning again. "I'll wear it. Try to keep your eyes in your head." Regina used her magic again, dressing herself in a corset, fresh underwear and the red velvet dress.

“Damn,” he exhaled, stepping back to get the full view from the back, a groan catching in his throat.”

Regina chuckled. She knew the effect she had on men in that dress. "I'll bet you never imagined yourself enjoying this dress on me when you saw me in it in the damn book."

“Huh?” Henry thought back to his book of fairytales, briefly wondering where it was, and remembered the story of the Evil Queen and the Huntsman. “That’s the dress you wore when you hired Graham,” he realized. “Well no wonder he agreed.”

Smirking, she winked at him and put a finger to her lips. Regina tilted her head in thought, her eyes raking over his body. "How shall I dress you, hm?"

Henry grinned widely, lifting his shoulders. “How would you like to see me? Besides, y’know, naked. And maybe tied to the bed,” he smirked.

Regina ran a hand down his arm. "Well you do look very much like your grandfather." She wave her hand in front of him, covering him in a cloud of purple before revealing him in a poofy sleeved white shirt and brown pants, with heavy dark brown boots.

“Nice,” Henry said, impressed as he looked down at himself. “Not gonna ask what that has to do with Grandpa, though.”

Raising a playful eyebrow, she smirked. "I have no idea what you could possibly mean. I'm just dressing you like a prince, my darling."

“Riiiight,” Henry drew the word out, shaking his head. “Like I said, not asking. Besides,” he chuckled, teasing, “He’s older than you now, and everyone knows younger men do it better.”

Regina let out a light laugh, gripping the collar of his shirt and pulling him to her for a quick, but searing, kiss. "If you say so."

Henry groaned against her lips, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tight against him. “You didn’t seem to disagree last night,” he murmured.

"No, and I wouldn't have. You're very enjoyable." She tilted her hips forward, pressing against him. "And fairly dominating. Not what I would've expected when I met the shy boy who wanted advice about asking a girl out."

“Mm…” Henry walked her backward to press against the wall. “Just because I’m not very experienced doesn’t mean I don’t have a very active fantasy life. And pinning you down and fucking you hard? That one’s been a staple for a while now.”

Tilting her head then, Regina ran her hands over his chest and slid her tongue out to wet her lips. "Just wait until I get my turn to do the same."

Grinding his hips against hers, letting her feel his growing erection, he tilted his head and nipped at the tip of her tongue. “Can’t wait.”

"I bet not, but you'll have to, despite," Regina moved one hand between their bodies, cupping his crotch, "this."

Henry groaned again, both at the touch, and at the leather constricting his anatomy.

She brushed her lips against his, just barely sliding her tongue along the part. "We'll take care of that later, my love. For now, we should go have breakfast and speak with everyone."

Humming, Henry nodded. “You go ahead… I need a minute,” he added wryly.

With a nod, Regina slid out of the small space she had between his body and the wall. She ran her fingers across her chest and pressed a kiss to his shoulder as she moved away. "Just head for the obnoxiously loud crowd I've no doubt you'll hear when you leave the room."

“I will,” Henry agreed, turning and leaning against the wall, fully intending to watch the sway of her hips as she left, even if it would make his situation more… difficult.

Regina winked at him as she turned to pull the door shut once she'd walked through it. Making her way to the dining hall, she sighed in worry of what she would find. She stepped inside, looking around and hoping to avoid Emma.

Emma watched the doorway like a hawk, and when she saw her son’s other mother, she raised her voice over the excited din of citizens and friends happy to have her back. “Regina!” she called. Immediately a hush fell over the hall as all eyes turned to the queen, shocked to see her.

Stopping herself from heaving a sigh, Regina stood up straight. Shoulders back and hips swaying, she made her way across the dining hall to the blonde woman, keeping her face, and gaze, forward.

Frowning at the eye-catching, form-fitting dress, Emma crossed her arms over her chest. “Where’s Henry?” she asked once the other woman was in front of her.

"He's preparing himself for the day. I left him with an outfit, but as I believe you had a journey, I assume he's cleaning up." The lie came out so smoothly, second nature still, it seemed.

Emma’s eyes narrowed as she tried to determine whether Regina was telling the truth or not. Unable to detect a flat-out lie, she hummed. “Well he better hurry, everyone’s already eating.”

The doors opened again then, the young man in question striding into the room and greeting a few people.

Eyes widening now, Emma stared at her son wearing tight leathers. “What did you _do_?” she whispered, slightly horrified.

Shrugging, Regina rolled her eyes. "Look at your father's wardrobe. It's what princes here wear."

“I never wanted to see my kid in pants that tight,” Emma muttered.

Henry finally made his way to the table. “Sorry I’m late.”

Emma shook her head, saying in a low voice, “I’m not even going to ask what kept you.”

Pulling off an offended look, Henry stated, “Regina… Mom… _She_ ,” he tilted his head toward the brunette, “provided me with clothes and left. I was getting dressed and cleaned up a bit.” He rubbed his freshly shaved, and slightly nicked, jaw for emphasis.

Regina gave Emma a self-satisfied smirk, then smiled softly at Henry. She put her hand to his jaw, lightly running her finger over the nick and healing it, even if it was practically nothing.

David, seeing that Henry had joined them, and everyone was together, smiled at his grandson. "Henry, maybe we'll get a chance to catch up today. Since you were... uh, busy... last night."

Henry flushed slightly and nodded. “Yeah, that’d be great.” He cleared his throat and held a chair for Regina, sitting next to her once she was seated. “We actually, uh, have something we wanted to talk to you guys about,” he said, self-consciously reaching for Regina’s hand.

Emma’s jaw flexed and she had to bite her lip to keep from snapping at her son. Instead she quietly suggested, “Maybe _not at the table_ , Henry?”

"I find that I may, for once, agree with Emma. Perhaps when it's just family," Regina suggested, squeezing his hand gently.

David furrowed his brow, looking to Snow and smiling awkwardly. Turning back to Henry and Regina, he nodded. "All right then."

Henry nodded slightly, withdrawing his hand. “We, uh, were talking last night--” he paused when Emma snorted. “And we’d like to go back to the Land Without Magic. To stay. We don’t want to live here.”

"You're... absolutely certain?" David questioned hesitantly. "Why though? This is where you wanted to get to so badly when you were younger. This is our home."

“I get that,” Henry nodded. “But I already miss electricity and I really don’t want to not have modern medicine when I need it. Yeah, I wanted to live here when I was eleven, but I’m not a little kid anymore.”

“I, uh…” Emma squirmed uncomfortably. “I agree with the kid on this one. I’ve had enough Enchanted Forest to last a lifetime.”

David didn't want to leave the Enchanted Forest, not in the least, but, "I can't lose you again, Emma. Or you, Henry. This is the first time our family has been properly together in far too long. I'm not okay with losing that again.”

Regina didn't think Snow would take much convincing, in fact she suspected David would've been the more difficult one of the two, but she looked to the other woman for her thoughts on the matter.

“David,” Snow said quietly, resting her hand on his arm. Her voice was low, keenly aware that they hadn’t told anyone the news she was about to reveal. “I’m not going through another pregnancy without ice cream if I don’t have to.”

Emma’s eyes nearly fell out of her head, and she glanced from her mother to her, apparently, little brother, the seven-year-old shoveling porridge into his mouth, and back to her mother.

Raising her eyebrows, Regina winced. "Another? Building an army, are we?"

Frowning, Snow protested defensively, “It’s only tw--three. Three. God, Emma, I’m so sorry.”

Emma drew in a sharp breath and quickly stood. “I’m… gonna go find Hook about getting back home.”

“Grandma!” Henry admonished, watching Emma practically flee the dining hall.

David sighed, dropping his head into his hands. "Henry, you know her best, I want to follow her, but will it help, or do more harm?"

“I have no idea,” Henry answered honestly. “Yesterday her parents were a couple assholes who left her on the side of the road. Sure, she remembers the truth now, but… that’s still pretty fresh.”

“I’m so sorry,” Snow said, brow furrowed in worry. “That was… It’s just… It’s been so _long_.”

"I'll go. Just... stay here with Neal," David said in exasperation. Standing, he hurried to follow Emma, leaving the others behind.

Regina, looking for a way to break the tension, looked at Snow. "Well how far along are you?"

Still looking a little guilty, Snow nonetheless lit up. “Three months,” she answered, putting a hand on her stomach.

Henry shook his head, muttering something unintelligible under his breath and beginning to pile his plate with food.

Tilting her head, Regina looked at Henry questioningly. "Everything all right, sweetheart?"

“Yup. Maybe Grandma will have a girl to replace Mom completely.”

“ _Henry_!” Snow exclaimed, eyes welling with tears.

Regina felt torn. On one hand, Henry was right to be upset, Snow's slip was a cruel one; on the other hand, the woman had visited her frequently, speaking to her and assisting in keeping her sanity in tact. "Darling, people make mistakes. We all lived a long time without you two."

Henry sighed, nodding reluctantly. “I suppose. That doesn’t mean I forgive you yet,” he added. “I’m on Mom’s side here.”

Snow nodded, looking down at her plate. “I understand.”

With a sigh, Regina changed the subject, distracting Henry with more questions of his life in New York. At the rate they were going, the discussion later might not be as awkward as she was expecting.

~

Everything moved quickly after that first breakfast, with Emma making it clear to David during their talk that she was going back to New York, and they could stay or come with, their choice. So two days later, the ruling family and their closest friends stood at the docks with their things, leaving Aurora and Philip to rule, with Mulan as their advisor.

Since they would be docking in New York and cramping into Emma’s apartment until they all got sorted out, Regina had magicked everyone their modern outfits, and even given Henry a beautiful leather messenger bag, which he’d carefully filled with select jewels from Regina’s collection, ensuring that everyone would have enough money to live off of.

So they waited at the docks while the pirate commanded his crew to start bringing the luggage aboard, and with Henry standing close to Regina’s side, his hand regularly lifting and pulling back just shy of hers, the awkwardness of the subject they hadn’t discussed with anyone else started to grow.

Regina turned her face to look at Henry, smiling softly and taking his hand into her own. She then looked at Snow and, tensing her jaw, looked the woman intently in the eyes. "I'm not sure what you've picked up on, but when we get back, when we get to New York, Henry and I... we'll be moving somewhere together... alone."

Emma winced, but stayed silent, for which Henry was grateful.

“I… wondered,” Snow replied slowly. “That’s… what you both want?”

“Absolutely,” Henry nodded, squeezing Regina’s hand and smiling back at her.

Nodding, Snow shifted on her feet, glanced quickly at Emma, then said, “Well, as long as you’re both happy, that’s what matters, right?”

“Don’t look at me,” Emma protested. “For the sake of not losing my kid, I’m staying out of this conversation.”

"Perhaps it's unconventional, but something changed while I was under the sleeping curse, and it's... different now. And yes, I agree with Henry, this is absolutely what we both want," Regina said, her eyes flicking over to Emma. There went any good that had come into that relationship.

David lifted Neal into his arms, then nodded. "It isn't something that was unheard of for me when I was growing up, so it doesn't bother me. It's... you know, it's good to see you awake, so it's... good," he ended awkwardly, switching his gaze from Regina and nodding at Henry.

Henry couldn’t help but grin at his grandfather’s awkward approval, and he teased, “Very eloquent there, Grandpa.”

Looking for a bit of an escape from the conversation, Emma looked up at the ship, and saw Hook nodding toward the gangplank. “Hey, I think it’s time to go,” she said in relief, heading over and boarding the ship.

David held his arm out, guiding Snow to board the ship, his hand pressing to the small of her back protectively.

Regina squeezed Henry's hand, pulling him back to wait as everyone else boarded the ship. "Are you sure? Everything... this is all what you want?"

Henry smiled, pulling her close and kissing her lightly. “I’m sure,” he promised. “I want this more than anything.”

Smiling in return, Regina moved her hands up to hold his arms, looking up at him. "Okay. I love you."

“I love you, too.” Grinning in anticipation of the cheesy words about to leave his mouth, Henry added, “C’mon… our future awaits.”

~

Two months passed and Regina had managed to fake a work resume before they'd returned, and had snagged a position on the Manhattan City council. Henry spent his days writing whatever story was given to him for a small local paper, and they were happy.

She made her way home on a Friday night, later than planned, and more than ready to kick off her heels and relax with Henry, doing nothing for the rest of the weekend.

Hearing the door to the apartment open, Henry pushed aside the newspaper he read near-religiously to try to get a better sense of journalism. “Hey, beautiful,” he greeted, standing from the couch and moving to wrap his arms around Regina.

Returning his hold, Regina slid her shoes off and smiled up at him. "Hey, yourself." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips, then looked around. "How was your day?"

“Pretty good,” Henry nodded. “They paired me with a more senior writer for experience. Oh, and I put dinner in the oven twenty minutes ago, leftovers from last night.” He kissed her again, happily. “How was work?”

"Long, tedious. Makes me miss how simple small towns are." Regina leaned back and nodded. "Thanks for putting dinner in. What else did you get up to?"

“Just reading the paper. Boring day.” Henry shrugged, pulling away and taking her hand to pull her over and down onto the couch with him. “Oh, but I did talk to Grandpa. He called to see how we were doing.”

Regina hummed softly. "How did that go? How's everyone on their end?" Curling up beside him, she stretched her legs across his thighs.

Resting his hands on her thighs, Henry lightly massaged the firm muscles. “Pretty good. Grandma’s showing a bit, now. It’s a girl. He said mom’s pretty pissed about it, but she was talking about finally giving me a call, so hopefully that’ll be soon.”

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. It wasn't very mature of her to basically cut you off. She has every right to be pissed at me, but she shouldn't still be acting like this toward you." Regina sighed, shaking her head slowly.

“I know.” Henry shrugged, pressing his lips together. “But it’s her choice. She’ll come around. She always does. I’m not really worried about it, honestly.”

Regina pursed her lips, then let out a soft chuckle. "Oh? She's been through you falling in love with your mother before, has she?"

Henry rolled his eyes. “Don’t be silly. She’s been through me seeing someone she didn’t approve of, before.”

"Please tell me you're not comparing me to the psychotic girl?" Regina groaned, squinting her eyes at him.

“Well I did date her because she looked like you,” Henry teased, squeezing her thigh.

"Brat," Regina shot back, leaning in and brushing her lips against his.

Chuckling as he returned the kiss, Henry slid his hand up her thigh and pinched lightly, grinning against her lips.

Regina bit his lip, harder than necessary but still light enough not to really hurt him. She slid her hands around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

Henry hummed, gripping her leg and squeezing before regretfully pulling back just enough to murmur, “The food will be ready any minute now.”

"Good. I didn't really want to kiss you that much anyway." Regina winked at him, pulling back and sitting up properly.

Shaking his head and grinning, Henry stood, making his way to the kitchen to check on the food. “I’m calling bullshit on that, just so you know,” he tossed over his shoulder as he walked.

Regina chuckled as she stretched her arms to either side. "No, really, my lips feel too chapped from my new intern at work."

Henry paused, considering that. “That’s an acceptable excuse if it’s a woman and she’s bi.”

"Darling, there's only one woman I've ever been interested in, and she's some form of dead, so I doubt that'll be happening." Standing, she headed into the kitchen, too, and grabbed a glass for wine.

“I’m sorry,” Henry said sympathetically, pulling the food out of the oven and shaking off the oven mitts to pull her against him again. “I love you,” he murmured, kissing her lightly.

She slipped her arms around him, smiling brightly. "I love you, too. And there's nothing to be sorry for; Emma killed her under the impression that it was the only way to save you, which I would never regret."

Henry’s eyes widened. “Mom _killed_ someone? How does killing someone save me?”

"It's a long story that we'll have time for another day. But yes, she killed Maleficent." Regina pecked his lips quickly, then pulled away to pull a bottle of wine from the rack on the counter.

“My life gets weirder every day,” Henry mused as he pulled plates from the cupboard and dished up the food.

Regina poured her wine, squinting in questioning at him. "You were ten. Emma really never told you that story?"

“Well she said that she killed a dragon with Grandpa’s sword, and there was something inside it that Mr. Gold stole, but that’s it.”

"Mm, yes, well it was Maleficent." Pausing, she stepped to his side and pressed her body close to his, kissing the side of his arm as she looked at him. "And weirder? Not better?"

Humming, Henry leaned over to kiss her again. “With you? Definitely better. All the rest? Yeah, that’s weirder.”

Regina gave him another smile, pulling away to carry her wine to the dining room. She slid into a seat, letting him carry the food over.

With the food on the table, Henry grabbed a glass of water before sitting, smiling at Regina. “Can I, uh,” he cleared his throat, “propose a toast?”

Raising an eyebrow, she nodded and rolled her lips together. "All right. What's your toast?"

Flushing a little, Henry lifted his glass. “To leftovers, normal jobs, and uneventful lives. To this future we’re building together on our terms, not anyone else's. To us.”

She grinned at his cheesy toast, but tapped her glass to his and sipped anyway. "There's nothing I want more than this."

“Me neither.”

 

 


End file.
